This Sunday 8th September marks the seventy-seventh anniversary of the union movement winning the right to a weekend in Australia.
Prior to 1947, many workers were compelled to work as much as twelve hours a day, six days a week. On September 8, 1947, following years of sustained union campaigning, the Commonwealth Arbitration Court ruled in favour of a forty-hour, five-day working week.
The union campaign for the right to a weekend was opposed by business groups and conservative politicians at the time, who argued it would negatively impact businesses and the economy.
In 1947, the President of the Chamber of Manufacturers, Cecil N. McKay, commented:
“Australia is committed to an unnecessary and dangerous experiment in the midst of an inflationary period, and it is to be hoped that the burden will not fall too heavily upon those whom it was intended to benefit”
Unions currently face the same arguments from employer groups about the modern work-life balance and the right to disconnect.
The Arbitration Court in 1947 recognised the importance of allowing Australians to have time away from work to rest and live a life outside the workplace. Today, the constant intrusion of work into people’s lives with technology highlights the importance of maintaining the right to disconnect laws.
Quotes attributable to ACTU Secretary Sally McManus:
“Seventy-seven years ago, working people through their unions won the right to a weekend – the right to rest, spend time with their loved ones and enjoy life outside work. This weekend, we honour that legacy and build on those rights for working people in modern times.
“Employer opposition to Australians winning the right to a weekend echoes their current fight against modern rights for workers, including the right to disconnect.
“In the future, people will view the right to disconnect in the same way we now view the right to a weekend: as a matter of plain common sense.”
